Fidel Castro dead at 90

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Holy shit. Didn't think this would ever happen.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Christ what I'd do to be in Miami tonight.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I'm hearing fireworks in the distance on the other side of the Intracoastal. I can only imagine that some wealthy Cuban exiles across the river by A1A are the cause of it.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Nine months from today the maternity wards in Miami are going to be at full capacity 'me thinks. What an exciting night! I know so many Cuban-Americans who have been waiting for this night for a long time. Seeing the footage out of Little Havana with all of the people in the streets, the car horns honking, the bands playing, and so forth is a really beautiful sight.

I'm sure the mood on the island itself is a bit more complex and divided, of course.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Holy shit. Didn't think this would ever happen.

A 90-year-old man dying?  That tends to happen sometimes.

Not this90 year old . He seemed so grimly immortal.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

The funny thing is, I kinda agree with Intell. Kinda.

Castro was a murderous thug who is burning in hell. I have no doubt about that. The glee of the Cuban community in Miami tonight is a long yearned for, long desired celebration. Yet, frankly, the Cuban community in Little Havana has largely exaggerated Castro's legacy. He's a thug, sure. A dictator, certainly. But he isn't even close to being as evil as, say, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Mao, Idi Amin, or Pol Pot. And of course, the embargo of Cuba by the United States not only made the suffering of the Cuban people worse, but also strengthened his regime's hold on power. Honestly, JFK probably caused more suffering and despair worldwide than Castro ever did.

Castro certainly did develop Cuba. He did it through illegally seizing and redistributing land, crushing opposition with brute force, and supporting radical leftist movements around the world.

The real irony about the Cuban-Americans in Miami who are celebrating the news and chanting "Cuba Libre" don't have any intentions of returning. Raul isn't going to be gone long after Fidel, and I suspect that even if communism in Cuba is a relic of the past by the end of Trump's first term, most of these "exiles" will not lift a finger to help Cuba move into the 21st century.